JPH08172904A - Production of culturing container for culturing mushroom bed and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a producing method capable of simply and readily attaching a filter for securing air permeability in a culturing container for culturing a mushroom bed in which a culture medium consisting essentially of sawdust is packed and an apparatus therefor. CONSTITUTION: (1) A culturing container 9, in which the upper part housing a culture medium therein is open, made of a plastic bag is carried from a conveyer 4 onto a rotating table 3, (2) the opening part of the carried culturing container 9 is opened and held by a sleeve mechanism 6 which vertically moves and at the same time, (3) a hole 92 for attaching a filter is opened in the upper part of the side of the culturing container 9 and (4) a filter 93 is thermally fused to a hole 92 opened in the upper part of the side and (5) a sleeve mechanism 6 for retaining the opening part in opened state is removed from the culturing container 9 and (6) a step for re-carrying the culturing container 9 from the rotating table 3 to the conveyer 4 is practiced while intermittently rotating the rotating table.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a culture vessel used for cultivating a mushroom bed such as shiitake mushrooms cultivated using a medium mainly containing sawdust, and a production apparatus used for this production method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For the cultivation of shiitake mushrooms by inoculating the seeds of logs such as kunugi and oak, a culture consisting mainly of sawdust in a wide-mouthed bottle and a plastic bag made of medium or low-pressure polyethylene or polypropylene. Bacterial bed cultivation, which is performed by filling a container, is widely practiced. Most of the culture vessels used for such bacterial bed cultivation have a gusset-shaped upper part made of a plastic film made of medium or low pressure polyethylene or polypropylene with a thickness of about 0.03 to 0.05 mm for convenience of handling. As a bag, this gusset-shaped bag has a filter attached to the hole formed in the upper part of the gusset for ventilation by heat welding or adhesive, and also an apparatus for automatically manufacturing this plastic bag is used. It has already been put to practical use.

The culture container made of the plastic bag thus obtained is filled by a producer with a predetermined amount of a medium mainly containing sawdust in the culture container by using a hand or a machine, and then the opening is temporarily provided. After stopping and sterilizing, after sterilization is completed, mushroom fungi such as shiitake mushrooms are contacted, the opening is again closed by an appropriate means to form a bacterial bed, and this bacterial bed is cultured according to a conventional method to produce mushrooms. ing.

On the other hand, a vertical bag-making packaging machine known as a well-known vertical billow packaging machine is equipped with a hollow shaft screw, a separating and cutting shaft, a separating knife, an elongated hole rod, a pressure detection receiving plate and a bag side receiving guide. By providing the bag, at the same time as forming the bag, sawdust in the bag is automatically packed and a hole for planting mushroom fungus in the filled medium can be formed. -1 publication)
Has also been put to practical use.

[0005]

The culture container made of the above-mentioned known plastic bag used for fungal bed cultivation is a bag made by opening a gusset-shaped upper part of a plastic film, and the upper part of the gusset-shaped bag is aerated. It is the easiest for the producer to purchase a filter that has a filter attached to it by heat welding etc., but the finished product must be purchased each time. However, when a large amount of this type of culture vessel is used, there is a practical problem such as an increase in cost.

Further, the automatic bag-making and pressure-molding and filling apparatus of Oga disclosed in JP-A-63-1 is extremely advantageous in that a culture container filled with a medium can be manufactured at the same time as bag making. It is a thing. However, in the bag made into a bag, a hole for ventilation is formed in the side surface portion of the bag, and a cylindrical urethane is inserted into this hole, or a thin filter is attached by means such as heat welding or adhesion, or
Since it is necessary to mount and use an inner cap, a thin plate-shaped filter, and an outer cap on the upper portion to be opened, there is a problem that the means for ensuring air permeability is extremely complicated.

In view of the present situation, the present invention manufactures a culture container in which a filter for ensuring air permeability can be easily and easily attached to a culture container filled with a culture medium mainly containing sawdust at the same time as bag making. It is intended to provide a method and its apparatus.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method for producing a culture vessel for cultivating a fungal bed of the present invention comprises the following (1) to (6).
The above process is sequentially performed while rotating the rotary table at a predetermined interval. (1) A carrying-in step of carrying in a culture container consisting of a plastic bag having an open top while containing a culture medium mainly containing sawdust inside (2) the above-mentioned opening of the carried-in culture container Opening holding step of holding the opening by a sleeve mechanism that moves up and down (3) Drilling step of opening a hole for mounting a filter on the upper side surface of the culture container while the opening is held by the sleeve mechanism (4) Opening section Sealing step of heat-sealing the filter to the filter mounting hole opened on the upper side surface in a state where the filter is opened by the sleeve mechanism (5) After the filter is heat-welded to the culture vessel,
Opening holding release step of releasing the opening state by releasing the sleeve mechanism that holds the opening in the opening state from the culture container (6) The culture container whose opening holding state of the opening has been released is again conveyed from the rotary table to the conveyor. Carrying out process

Further, the manufacturing apparatus used in the method for manufacturing the culture container for cultivating the fungal bed is characterized by having the following mechanisms (A) to (E). (A) A carry-in mechanism for accommodating a culture medium composed mainly of sawdust in the inside transferred by a conveyor and sequentially carrying in a culture container made of a plastic bag having an open upper part from the conveyor onto a rotary table (B) a rotary table A plurality of holding hinges that are vertically movable upward and that converge at the lower end of the rectangular sleeve when descending move into the inside from the opening of the culture container and at the same time when the sleeve descends. The holding hinge of the book expands and pushes the upper part of the culture container in a square shape, and holds the culture container above the medium in a square shape at the lowest position of the sleeve, and the tip of the holding hinge converges as the sleeve rises. Sleeve mechanism for detaching from culture vessel (C) The upper side of the culture medium is placed on the side surface of the culture vessel held in a rectangular shape by a sleeve, When the cylindrical heater is brought into contact with the upper side surface of the culture container by the operation of the da, a hole forming mechanism for forming a filter attachment hole on the side surface of the culture container (D) A side surface of the culture container having a hole on the upper side surface And a filter holding part is moved forward by the operation of the cylinder, and a cut mechanism is welded to the outer peripheral edge of the hole formed in the culture container. (E) A hole formed on the upper side surface by the seal mechanism. Unloading mechanism that carries out the culture container with the filter fused to the outer peripheral edge of the container to the conveyor

In the present invention, the culture vessel may be formed by bag-making a plastic sheet such as medium-low pressure polyethylene or polypropylene, and the culture vessel can be filled with the medium as described in JP-A-63-1. It may be filled by using the apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-52, or may be filled by a human or machine into a commercially available culture container without a vent.

[0011]

According to the method for producing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention, a culture container filled with a medium and having an upper opening is transferred from a conveyor to a rotary table, and the rotary table is rotated at predetermined intervals. It is possible to efficiently carry out holding of the upper opening of the culture container, formation of a hole for mounting a filter on the upper side surface of the culture container, welding of the filter, and carrying out of the culture container after mounting the filter to the conveyor.

The apparatus for producing a culture container for cultivation of a fungus bed is designed such that the upper opening of the culture container placed on the rotary table and filled with the medium is surely kept open by the sleeve mechanism and the upper side surface of the culture container is kept open. Since the holes for attaching the filter to and the welding of the filter are performed, the attachment of the filter for ventilation to the culture container can be automated, and the culture container can be efficiently manufactured.

[0013]

EXAMPLES Examples of the apparatus for producing a culture vessel for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
At the same time, a method for manufacturing the culture container will be described. The production apparatus 1 for a culture container for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention is basically provided with an apparatus main body 2 as shown in FIGS. A rotary table 3 which rotates at intervals, and a conveyer 4 which is arranged on the apparatus main body 2 in a state where the conveying surface is located on the same plane as the rotary table 3 and is in contact with a part of the outer peripheral edge of the rotary table 3.
And a carry-in / carry-out mechanism 5 for carrying in the culture container 9 conveyed by the conveyor 4 to the rotary table 3 and carrying out the culture container 9 on the rotary table 3 again to the conveyor 4, and arranged above the rotary table 3. A plurality of sleeve mechanisms 6 and a perforating mechanism 7 arranged laterally of a predetermined position of the rotary table 3 for forming a hole in the side surface of the culture container 9.
And a sealing mechanism 8 arranged laterally at a predetermined position of the rotary table 3 for welding a filter to the hole of the culture vessel 9 in which the hole is formed by the hole forming mechanism 7.

The rotary table 3 is intermittently rotated by 60 ° by a motor (not shown) which is intermittently driven. As shown in FIG. Step of receiving the culture vessel 9 filled with the medium 91 conveyed by the above on the turntable 3 (2) Holding the opening by which the upper opening of the loaded culture vessel 9 above the medium is held down by the sleeve mechanism 6 Step (3) Forming a hole 92 for attaching a filter for aeration on the upper side surface of the culture container 9 (4) Heat-welding a filter 93 to the outer peripheral portion of the hole 92 formed in the culture container 9 Sealing step (5) Opening holding release step of lifting the sleeve mechanism 6 from the culture container 9 after the sealing step to release the opening holding state (6) The opening holding state of the opening is released The carrying-out process of carrying out the culture container 9 from the rotary table 3 to the conveyor 4 again is sequentially carried out.

On the conveyer 4, a well-known vertical bag-making machine is used to carry out bag making, and at the same time, a culture container 9 filled with a predetermined amount of a culture medium mainly containing sawdust is carried into the rotary table 3, and the culture is completed after the predetermined steps. Guides for transporting the container 9 to subsequent steps, and guides for surely loading the culture container 9 onto the rotary table 3 on both sides of the conveyor 4 until the culture container 9 is loaded onto the rotary table 3. It is preferable to provide the plate 41.

The carry-in / carry-out mechanism 5 is for carrying in the culture container 9 carried by the conveyor 4 to the rotary table 3 and carrying out the culture container 9 on the rotary table 3 after a predetermined process to the conveyor 4 again. In order to carry the culture container 9 onto the rotary table 3, specifically, a rod 52 is connected to the central portion of a semicircular holding plate 51 that holds the outer peripheral portion of the culture container 9, and this rod 52 is used as a cylinder. The culture container 9 conveyed by the conveyor 4 is brought into the turntable 3 by being linked with (not shown). Further, in order to carry out the culture container 9 after completion of all the steps to the conveyor 4, specifically, the arm 54 having the tip end portion 53 bent at a right angle is interlocked with a cylinder (not shown) to operate the cylinder. The arm 54 is sent out onto the rotary table 3 with the tip 53 standing upright, inverted by 90 ° so that the tip 53 contacts the upper surface of the rotary table 3, and the tip 53 is hooked on the rear surface of the culture vessel 9. After that, the culture vessel 9 is conveyed to the conveyor 4 by pulling back the arm 54.

Six sleeve mechanisms 6 for holding the upper opening of the culture vessel 9 are provided above the rotary table 3 in synchronization with the rotation angle of the rotary table 3. In each sleeve mechanism 6, as shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular tubular sleeve main body 61 having a rectangular cross section moves up and down in synchronization with the vertical movement of the cylinder 62. A hole 68 for inserting the cylindrical heater 73 of the hole making mechanism 7 to be described later is formed. At the lower end of the sleeve main body 61, when the sleeve main body 61 is in the raised position, the respective tip portions converge at approximately the axial center of the sleeve main body 61 having a rectangular tubular shape, and the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve main body 61 as it descends. 4 holding hinges 62 that expand in diameter by
Is attached.

In the figure, 63 is a sleeve rod for guiding the sleeve main body 61, and 64 is the sleeve rod 63.
Is a rotating body with the lower end fixed, and is 60 ° from the central axis.
A total of six sleeve main bodies are mounted at every interval, and rotate in synchronization with the rotary table 3, and holes 65 through which the sleeve main bodies 61 can be inserted are formed corresponding to the respective sleeve main bodies 61. . Further, a plurality of guide rods 66 are attached to the back surface of the rotating body 64 so as to correspond to the respective sleeve bodies, and a mechanism for converging and expanding the tip end portion of the holding hinge 62 along the guide rods 66. Base members 67 each having the above are provided so as to be vertically movable.

The hole forming mechanism 7 for forming holes in the side surface of the culture container 9 is arranged on the side of the rotary table 3 at the position where the step (3) is performed, and more specifically, As shown in FIG. 5, the base plate 7 is moved by the operation of the cylinder 71.
2 is attached so as to be able to move forward or backward in a horizontal state, and a cylindrical heater 73 is provided at the tip of this base plate 73. Reference numeral 74 in the figure is an air nozzle for reliably cutting the upper side surface portion of the culture vessel 9 by the heater 73 and supplying air from behind the heater 73 through the duct 75 to remove the cut pieces. is there. Reference numeral 76 denotes a guide roller for horizontally guiding the base plate 72.

The sealing mechanism 8 is arranged beside the rotary table 3 at a position where the step (4) is performed.
A base plate 82, which is provided in a horizontal state by the operation of the cylinder 81, is provided so as to be advanced or retracted by being guided by a guide roller 83, and a tip of the base plate 82 is cut into a predetermined size. A holding head 84 for holding the filter 93 is provided. In this holding head 84, a belt-shaped filter wound around a roll 10 shown in FIG. 2 is pulled out by a feed roller 11 downward, and a filter 93 cut into a predetermined size by a cutter (not shown) is moved upward. And a cylindrical heater 85 for welding the retained filter 93 to the upper side surface of the culture container 9 by welding.

A method of manufacturing the culture vessel 9 using the manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above structure will be described below. At the same time as bag making, the culture container 9 filled with a predetermined amount of the medium 91 from the upper opening is conveyed by the conveyor 4 toward the rotary table 3. (See FIG. 3) Then, when the leading culture vessel 9 reaches a predetermined position, the rod 52 of the carry-in / carry-out mechanism 5 operates to convey the conveyor 4
The upper culture container 9 is carried into a predetermined position on the turntable 3. (Refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) When the culture container 9 is carried into the rotary table 3 from the conveyor 4, the rotary table 3 rotates by 60 °, so that the position of the culture container 9 moves by 60 ° and rotates. The following culture vessels are placed on the table 3 by the conveyor 4 in the same manner as described above.
It is brought in from.

Since the culture container 9 which has been moved forward by the rotation of the rotary table 3 in the opening holding step (2) has its upper opening portions in which the peripheral portions are close to each other, the blower (not shown in the drawing) from the upper portion of the culture container 9 is used. When the culture container has a square shape, the opening edge is supplied with air so that it becomes square, and when the culture container has a circular shape, it is close to a perfect circle. Then,
When the upper part of the culture vessel 9 is opened cleanly, the cylinder 62
Since the sleeve main body 61 starts to move down, the holding hinge 62 whose tip portion converges to the center also descends while keeping the converged state, and the tip end of the holding hinge 62 enters the culture container 9 from the opening. to go into.

When the tip of the holding hinge 62 is inserted into the culture container 9 and the lowering of the sleeve main body 61 is further advanced, the front end of the holding hinge 62 is spread by the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve main body 61 as shown in FIG. Mainly sleeve 61
When the tip end (lower end) of the sleeve main body 61 descends until it comes into contact with the medium 91, the lowering of the sleeve main body 61 is stopped, and the opening of the culture container 9 is held by the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve main body 61 in a square shape.

When the upper part of the culture vessel 9 is opened and held by the sleeve main body 61, the rotary table 3 is further rotated by 60 °.
Since the culture container 9 is rotated and stopped, the culture container 9 is punched (3)
Proceed to. At this time, the rotating body 6 to which the sleeve mechanism 6 is attached
4 also rotates by 60 °. When the rotary table 3 stops, the cylinder 71 shown in FIG.
2 moves forward on the rotary table 3, and the cylindrical heater 73 attached to the tip of the base plate 72 causes the culture container 9 to move.
Since it comes into contact with the upper side surface of the culture container and further enters into the hole 68 formed below the sleeve main body 61, a hole 92 having the same diameter as the heater 73 is formed on the upper side surface of the culture container. At this time,
Since the upper side surface of the culture container 9 is in a tension state by the sleeve main body 61, the hole 92 can be easily formed by the heater 73.

By the above operation, when the heater 73 forms a hole 92 of a predetermined diameter on the upper side surface of the culture vessel 9,
The base plate 72 retreats by the action of the cylinder 71 and separates from the turntable 3. When the boring operation by the boring mechanism 7 is completed, the rotary table 3 is rotated by 60 ° by a detection device such as a sensor, and the culture container 9 proceeds to the sealing step (4). At the same time, the rotating body 64 holding the sleeve main body 61 also rotates by 60 °.

When the culture container 9 is positioned in the sealing step (4), the cylinder 81 shown in FIG. 6 operates and the base plate 82 advances toward the culture container 9 on the upper surface of the turntable 3.
Since the precut filter 93 is held by the head 84 at the tip of the base plate 82, the head 84 also advances as the base plate 82 advances, and the tip surface of the head 84 is the upper side surface of the culture container 9. Hole 9 formed in
When the base plate 82 is further advanced in the state of being in contact with the outer peripheral edge portion of 2, the head 84 retracts against the urging force of the spring 86, so that the filter 93 is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral edge portion of the hole 92 and at the same time by the heater 85. The filter 93 is heated and the filter 93 is integrally welded to the culture container 9. When the filter 93 is welded to the culture container 9, the cylinder 81 operates and the base plate 82 retracts and separates from the turntable 3.

When the sealing step is completed, the rotary table 3 is further rotated by 60 ° and the culture container 3 is moved to the opening holding releasing step (5). When the culture container 9 moves in the opening holding release step (5), the cylinder 62 shown in FIG.
And a holding hinge 62 that simultaneously holds the upper opening of the culture container 9 open along with the sleeve main body 61.
Also starts to rise along the guide rod 66, and when the base member 67 to which the holding hinge 62 is attached approaches the rotating body 64, the respective tip ends of the holding hinges 62 are converged as in the original state, and the state shown in the drawing is obtained. Return to.

When the sleeve main body 61 is raised and the sleeve mechanism 6 is completely removed from the opening of the culture container 9, the rotary table 3 is rotated by 60 ° and the culture container 9 is carried out (step (6)).
Go to When the culture container 9 is located in the carry-out step (6), the arm 54 shown in FIG. 3 crosses the conveyor 4 and moves on the turntable 3 by the action of a cylinder (not shown).
When the tip portion 53 stands upright and advances toward the center, and when the tip portion 53 reaches the rear portion of the culture container 9, the arm 54 rotates 90 ° and the tip portion 53 becomes parallel to the upper surface of the rotary table 3. After that, when the arm 54 starts retracting, the tip portion 53 of the arm 54 engages with the back surface portion of the culture container 9, so that the culture container 9 moves to the conveyor 4 side according to the arm 54. When the culture container 9 reaches the substantially central portion of the conveyor 4 due to the retreat of the arm 54 due to the action of the cylinder, the arm 54 rotates again by 90 ° and the tip portion 53 returns to the upright state, and then retreats and the arm 54 moves. When the transfer step (6) is completed, the rotary table 3 is rotated by 60 ° and returned to the initial position, and all steps are completed.

After the completion of all the steps, the culture container 9 returned to the conveyor 4 again is conveyed to the next step by the conveyor 4 for sterilization and inoculation of mushroom fungi.

[0030]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION The method for producing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention is such that, at the same time as bag making, a culture container filled with a medium mainly containing sawdust is placed on a rotary table, and the rotary table is provided at predetermined intervals (angles). It is possible to automate the installation of the filter in the culture container because it is possible to form a hole for ventilation that is indispensable in the culturing process and to install a filter to prevent invasion of various bacteria into this hole while rotating with It is possible to significantly streamline the production of fungal beds in fungal bed cultivation.

Further, in the apparatus for producing a culture container for cultivating a fungal bed according to the present invention, the culture container placed on the rotary table and filled with the medium is surely opened and held by the sleeve mechanism at the upper opening of the culture container. Since the holes for mounting the filter are formed on the upper side surface and the filter is welded, the attachment of the filter for ventilation to the culture container can be automated, and the culture container can be efficiently manufactured. In addition, since all steps are performed using a rotary table, the device itself can be made small, and by combining a device that can fill the culture medium with bag making at the same time, the culture for bacterial bed cultivation can be performed. The container can be manufactured efficiently and economically.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a method for producing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of an apparatus for producing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an essential part of the apparatus for manufacturing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a sleeve mechanism in the apparatus for manufacturing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a perforation mechanism in the apparatus for manufacturing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a sealing mechanism in the apparatus for manufacturing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Manufacturing device for culture container for fungal bed cultivation 2 Device body 3 Rotating table 4 Conveyor 5 Carry-in / carry-out mechanism 6 Sleeve mechanism 7 Drilling mechanism 8 Sealing mechanism 9 Culture container

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a culture container for fungal bed cultivation, which comprises sequentially performing the following steps (1) to (6) while rotating a rotary table at predetermined intervals. (1) A carrying-in step of carrying in a culture container consisting of a plastic bag having an open top while containing a culture medium mainly containing sawdust inside (2) the above-mentioned opening of the carried-in culture container Opening holding step of holding the opening by a sleeve mechanism that moves up and down (3) Drilling step of opening a hole for mounting a filter on the upper side surface of the culture container while the opening is held by the sleeve mechanism (4) Opening section Sealing step of heat-sealing the filter to the filter mounting hole opened on the upper side surface in a state where the filter is opened by the sleeve mechanism (5) After the filter is heat-welded to the culture vessel,
Opening holding release step of releasing the opening state by releasing the sleeve mechanism that holds the opening in the opening state from the culture container (6) Carrying out the culture container from which the opening holding state of the opening is released to the conveyor again from the rotary table. Carry-out process 2. An apparatus for producing a culture container for cultivating a fungus bed, which comprises the following mechanisms (A) to (E). (A) A carry-in mechanism for accommodating a culture medium composed mainly of sawdust in the inside transferred by a conveyor and sequentially carrying in a culture container made of a plastic bag having an open upper part from the conveyor onto a rotary table (B) a rotary table A plurality of holding hinges that are vertically movable upward and that converge at the lower end of the rectangular sleeve when descending move into the inside from the opening of the culture container and at the same time when the sleeve descends. The holding hinge of the book expands and pushes the upper part of the culture container in a square shape, and holds the culture container above the medium in a square shape at the lowest position of the sleeve, and the tip of the holding hinge converges as the sleeve rises. Sleeve mechanism for detaching from culture vessel (C) The upper side of the culture medium is placed on the side surface of the culture vessel held in a rectangular shape by a sleeve, When the cylindrical heater is brought into contact with the upper side surface of the culture container by the operation of the da, a hole forming mechanism for forming a filter attachment hole on the side surface of the culture container (D) A side surface of the culture container having a hole on the upper side surface And a filter holding part is moved forward by the operation of the cylinder, and a cut mechanism is welded to the outer peripheral edge of the hole formed in the culture container. (E) A hole formed on the upper side surface by the seal mechanism. Unloading mechanism for unloading the culture container with the filter fused to the outer peripheral edge of the container to the conveyor